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Villainy - Fallen
Possibly the most sinister of all villain archetypes, the Fallen is the epitome of evil and malice. What few redeeming qualities she may have are dwarfed by her capacity for cruelty, destruction, pain, and death. She is evil to the core - and most commonly, openly acknowledges and accepts this fact. No brutish evil monster, the Fallen villain is a philosopher. She pursues evil in its purest form and sees this as some form of unholy quest. In addition to spreading evil wherever she goes, she also delights in mocking what is good and right in the world. She kills without remorse and commits atrocities without pause or hesitation. She actively works to destroy all that is positive in the world - though her actual motivations can vary wildly. In addition to a powerful adversary, the Fallen's strength lies in her abilities as a corrupter. It is not enough to inflict pain and suffering; she also strives to get others to do the same. The Fallen villain is like a disease - devouring the moral fiber of society from within. Like the Dark Messiah, she can sell sin and degredation well - but not always for the purposes of a higher power. Since the Fallen makes no excuses for her actions, she is perhaps the most easily-detected of all villain archetypes. The others may hide within hidden layers or behind an elaborate social structure - this villain's actions are flagrant and brash in contrast. Unfortunately, all-too-often, a Fallen villain is incredibly powerful, making her difficult to confront directly. More to the point, she almost never operates alone. Spiritually, the Fallen villain may be motivated by dark forces - powerful fiends and the like. Whether she realizes it or not, she serves these forces with her every action. The Fallen villain is the most-likely of all villain archetypes to use supernatural or magical abilities granted by these forces as a "reward" for her services. They watch over her, whispering mad suggestions and hinting at greater prizes for her loyalty, even if she serves no religion whatsoever. In the case of a wholly impious Fallen villain, all-too-often, these dark patrons will still recognize her. The goals of this villain are traditionally far-reaching and long-term. She strives for widespread destruction and chaos, and she realizes this will not occur overnight. Her plans are as methodical as they are terrifying; she is not some snarling maniac bent on hurting those she comes across - she takes her time, plans carefully, knows when to manipulate, and when to cast them aside. The motivations of this villain are borderline-impossible to define in any sane, rational way - after all, what can motivate a man to seek the destruction of everyone and everything around him? Most emotions, no matter how extreme, cannot account for the desires of a Fallen villain. Rage, disgust, pain, and despair are the closest emotional motivations - but a delicate balance of the aforementioned emotions plus a childhood trauma is traditionally the greatest factor in contributing to a Fallen villain. Most such villains have endured a horrific event that has permanently scarred their very sanity. Some, however, come from perfectly normal backgrounds - there is simply no way of telling who is most susceptible to the temptations of evil until it happens. The tactics of the Fallen villain are subtle - with subversion and seduction being far more potent than any weapon or spell in most cases. In the hands of this villain, twisting the art of diplomacy to create more conflict is simplicity in and of itself, and her words can turn neighbor against neighbor, or parent against child. Whenever possible, she prevers to let others commit the most violent acts - this is not an act of cowardice, but rather an act of someone delighting in the downward spiral of an otherwise innocent individual. There are no simple Fallen villains. A GM who introduces one to a campaign must be ready to explore the most horrific parts of human nature - this villain is deadly, dangerous, and easily the most sinister mortal foe a protagonist can face. The Fallen is really only suitable for experienced, mature playing groups. The four basic subtypes of Fallen villain are the Forsaken, Nihilist, Polarist, and Thanophile. Fallen Variants * Forsaken * Nihilist * Polarist * Thanophile Directory Link Back to Villain Archetypes.